Age assessment practice guidance for Scotland: child rights and wellbeing impact assessment

Child Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment

1. Brief Summary

Type of proposal:

• Decision of a strategic nature relating to the rights and wellbeing of children

Name the proposal, and describe its overall aims and intended purpose.

This template supports the proposal to update Scotland’s current age assessment guidance, last revised in 2018.

Age assessments are increasingly used in Scotland for the unaccompanied asylum seeking (UAS) children. Data from Convention of Scottish Local Authorities COSLA indicates that between July 2021 and June 2024, 581 children were transferred to Scotland through the National Transfer Scheme. COSLA data suggests about 50% of these children are age disputed and therefore local authorities may have to assess their age. Additionally, the opening of adult dispersal accommodation has resulted in hundreds of young people coming forward as children requiring age assessments. These figures continue to increase and local authorities require guidance on how to conduct age assessments.

Children presenting from adult dispersal hotels in Scotland is still a relatively new issue, one which requires the local authority to undertake a brief assessment on whether the person is or could be a child. This is an area with significant attention and challenge but which is not covered in existing guidance.

There have been calls from local authorities, third sector and other bodies to update guidance. There are three options:

• Option 1: Not to update guidance, recognising that the current guidance is largely fit for purpose and that Home Office codification work could result in changes to current practice.
• Option 2: Partially update guidance, to reflect changes in recent times including a sharp increase in need to undertake initial assessments whilst retaining the large proportion of guidance which remains fit for purpose. This would likely take the form of rewriting one section.
• Option 3: Full update to guidance, a full rewrite which may quickly become outdated if Home Office codification work changes practice.

Start date of proposal’s development: December 2024

Start date of CRWIA process: January 2025

2. With reference given to the requirements of the UNCRC (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024, which aspects of the proposal are relevant to/impact upon children’s rights?

Age assessment guidance is relevant to articles 2 and 3 (non-discrimination and best interests of child). Many children and young people affected by age assessments have been accommodated as adults with other adults in adult accommodation. They are often treated as an adult based on their appearance when they have arrived in the UK after journeys which have been reported to last months and even years. This guidance update focuses on how to ensure local authorities are assessing children and young people in compliance with the UNCRC – for example by ensuring that where there is uncertainty over whether they could be a child, they are given the benefit of the doubt in the first instance and accommodated by children’s services pending further investigation.

Article 12 states the right of the child to be heard and have weight given to their views. This guidance update reflects case law which sets out that doubts over age, in the view of the person assessing age, must be put to the young person and opportunity given to the young person to respond to those doubts. This update reinforces the right of the child to be heard.

The guidance supports article 22 which outlines that governments must provide appropriate protection and assistance to support refugee children. It affords young people who could be children the benefit of the doubt whilst undergoing assessment; this means that they must be cared for as children and therefore access appropriate support whilst waiting for the age assessment process to be carried out. The guidance supports that unaccompanied children are removed from adult asylum accommodation without undue delay to offer adequate protection to them as children.

We know that UAS children are likely to be victims of trafficking and exploitation and third sector organisations tell us that they are more vulnerable to trafficking and exploitation when in adult accommodation. This guidance supports children to be identified and cared for as children, therefore taking steps to protect children in relation to articles 32-36 (child labour, drug abuse, sexual exploitation, trafficking and other forms of exploitation.)

Article 39 relates to recovery from trauma and reintegration. In order to consider trauma, children need to first be identified and accommodated correctly in order to start to foster relationships with workers which may allow trauma to be addressed.

3. Please provide a summary of the evidence gathered which will be used to inform your decision-making and the content of the proposal

Existing research/reports/policy expertise

Scottish Government undertook a data gathering exercise with 30 local authorities across Scotland. The report touched on the challenges with age disputes and age assessments in Scotland. The report raised concerns about the volume of age disputes and presentations but also managing the risk of children incorrectly being placed with adults and vice versa. It spoke of the scrutiny on social workers carrying out assessments and the unsustainable cost of legal challenge and Judicial Review. It is clear that an update to guidance is required.

Just Right Scotland also produced a report about age assessment practice in Scotland. One of the asks of Scottish Government was to review and update Age Assessment Guidance to help local authorities act lawfully when making age assessment decisions.

Consultation/feedback from stakeholders

Just Right Scotland continue to ask for an update to age assessment guidance. This request has also been made by the Children and Young People’s Commissioner in Scotland (CYCPS,) Social Work Scotland and COSLA.

Consultation/feedback directly from children and young people

The Young People’s Voices report is a report on the voice of lived experience written in 2024. It does not touch on age assessment but it does touch on the unsuitability of adult asylum hotels as accommodation for children who have been incorrectly assessed by the Home Office on arrival. A final recommendation is that hotel use must be ended.

4. Further to the evidence described at ‘3’ have you identified any 'gaps' in evidence which may prevent determination of impact? If yes, please provide an explanation of how they will be addressed

The voice of lived experience does not specifically refer to age assessment guidance but we know from advocacy services including but not limited to Just Right Scotland, Guardianship Service and CYCPS, that children are being left in adult hotels and clear guidance is the first step to eradicating this.

5. Analysis of Evidence

The evidence strongly supports the need to update the guidance; there has been clear request from local authorities and COSLA on their behalf for clarity and support. Just Right Scotland have also asked the Scottish Government to undertake a guidance review to support local authorities and children. Additionally, this request has been made by other key stakeholders including the Children and Young People’s Commissioner. When engaging with stakeholders, it became clear that there was a lack of information available on young people and children who are being accommodated in adult asylum hotels and how age assessments need to be conducted. Engagement helped Scottish Government to conclude that, option 2, a partial update to guidance would be the best solution for the moment to address the gap efficiently.

In drafting the updates, there has been a strong stakeholder voice throughout; A small group including representatives from COSLA, 5 local authorities, Social Work Scotland, Just Right Scotland and Guardianship Scotland provided support to draft the refreshed content. This content was then shared more widely for feedback; it was shared with all local authorities, Chief Social Work Officers, Scottish Refugee Council, British Red Cross, Police Scotland, the Home Office and Mears.

6. What changes (if any) have been made to the proposal as a result of this assessment?

No changes.